


I'll Do Better

by Starofwinter



Category: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Child Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 09:16:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12339804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starofwinter/pseuds/Starofwinter
Summary: "I will always hold you close, but I will learn to let you go..."





	I'll Do Better

**Author's Note:**

  * For [propheticfire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/propheticfire/gifts).



> Inspired by PropheticFire, and the song [Light](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7egYKkIKqDs) by Sleeping At Last.

Jango’s heart stops when he hears the cry behind him.  He  _ knows _ that voice.  He knows it with every fiber of his being, every beat of his heart, every moment of his day.  For a moment, the entire galaxy stops as he turns to see Boba, standing behind him, one hand pressed to his belly.  He takes a step, and when he crumples, Jango is there to catch him, just the way he’s always been, just the way he’d been there when Boba took his first stumbling steps, just the way he’d been when Boba ran to meet him after a hunt and tripped over his own feet in his eagerness.

“Boba- Bob’ika,” he whispers as he flings his helmet aside, trying to hold back his tears, “Shh, shh.  Don’t try to move-”

“Kadalir, buir,” Boba whimpers, tears streaking his own cheeks, and Jango wipes them gently.  He knows - he  _ knows - _ it’s too late, he can already see the light fading from Boba’s eyes.  He wants to shout for the medics he knows aren’t there, but he’s frozen in this moment, cradling Boba in his arms.

“Shh, it’s alright now, buir’s here.”  His voice is tight, but he manages a shaky smile, “I’m here.  I love you, Boba, I won’t let anything happen.”  It’s a lie, he’s lying to his boy, and it hurts, but it’s what he’s said to his little boy every time Boba woke up from a nightmare, with every skinned knee or bruised hand from a fall.  It was the first thing he said when he held Boba for the first time, a tiny, crying little scrap of a thing just taking his first breaths, and it’s the last thing he says as he watches Boba take his final breaths.  

Jango cradles his body close - he’s so  _ small _ , just a boy, just  _ his _ boy, only ten - and his scream of grief echoes off the Geonosian stone.  Hasn’t he lost enough?  He watched his family murdered in front of him, lost years of his life to slavery, and now that he’s finally ripped some semblance of peace from the galaxy…  Boba, his son, the best thing that’s ever happened to him, is  _ gone _ .  He sobs, curled around the little body in his arms, his body shaking with it.  He’s an easy target for any of them, Jedi or droid, but he doesn’t care.  Let them kill him.  But they don’t grant him that mercy.  

He brushes Boba’s hair back and closes his eyes, and he wipes his own tears from the cheeks still round and soft with lingering baby fat.  “I’m sorry, Bob’ika, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you," he whispers, his voice ragged.  

* * *

Finally, he comes back - or goes numb - enough to realize he can't stay in the arena.  He staggers to his feet, Boba still held in his arms - like this, he looks like he’s just sleeping, he’s only sleeping - and he looks around, utterly lost.  What can he do?  He wants revenge, he wants to  _ kill _ whoever stole his son, but how can he?  In the moment he’s turned around, he knew what happened; he saw the raised DC-15 rifle and he  _ knew _ who had killed his son. 

Oh, he’s sure it was an accident, a stray shot that missed the droid and hit Boba, but-

_ Can he do this?  _

Jango looks around at the arena, at the scores of  _ his _ clones, boys no older than Boba but  _ so much older _ all at once.  He’d trained them, he knew their voices, their faces, he’d trained them to use the guns they carried, just as he would have trained Boba when he was a little older.  They could have been his sons too.  

He stumbles out, still carrying Boba.  No, he won’t get revenge on them, but he’ll burn the rest of the galaxy, the Republic that sent his sons to war and the Separatists that kill them, and he’ll save all of them that he can.

For Boba.


End file.
